Safehaven

Chapter 7

     Alright, here’s the thing.  When you’re hiking in the woods in the dead of night with a couple of teens and a demented man, it’s too late to realize that it’s a bad idea.  For one thing, you can’t see where you’re going.  And considering that the forest is full of roots, holes, and lots of other surprises, well, let’s just say that things didn’t go according to plan.  Around half an hour into our great adventure, fate decided that it was time for a little fun.  Sage, being the not so coordinated one, stepped into hole and twisted her ankle.  Typical, of course somebody had to twist their ankle!  That was just comical.  Anyway, from that point on, Sage had to grapple around in the dark, limping pitifully.  None of us could really help her without making anything worse.  For all we knew,  The ground on either side of our so called “trail” could drop off.  Nobody really wanted to find out.  And so that was where we were.

          Around nine hours into the night, things turned from bad to worse.  There was no light from the moon to help us and fate had again struck.  It had started to drizzle.  Rain collected on the leaves of the canopy above and then dropped all together.  Yay for us, we hadn’t brought umbrellas.  “Really?”  Holly finally grumbled.  “Of all the nights to rain, it had to be tonight.”  Nobody bothered to reply.  Why waste your breath?  Nathen spoke up.  “We are just about there, maybe just a quarter of a mile to go.  We should get there-…”  He was interrupted by a chorus of  shrieks and hollers.  “Crud.”  He muttered.  “We need to move faster.  Sage, it’ll be faster if I carry you.”  Without waiting for an answer, the man scooped up Sage and took the lead.  We couldn’t see him, but labored breaths and heavy footfalls keyed us in to his location.  Again, the howls sounded.  “I thought that you gutted those guys!”  I shout.  My voice is raspy from lack of sleep, and my vision getting hazy.  I hadn’t slept in over 24 hours.  Nathen panted.  “Those “guys” are called vanishers for a reason.  When summoned, they only disappear after they accomplish their given task.  If killed, they turn to ash and reform later.”  I gulped.  “Are we their next target?”  He didn’t have to answer.  We all knew.  Now running faster, our little ragtag group of runaways crashed through the dense undergrowth.  Maybe 200 feet away, I could just make out edge of a clearing.  An ancient stone arch sat not far beyond.  Even though there was no moon, the arch glimmered, as if thousands of tiny stars had been condensed and molded together.  100 feet remained.  We could make it!  Suddenly, there was a crash behind us.  I turned my head.  Right behind us were the vanishers.  How had they caught up so fast?!  If they could run that fast through the woods in high heels, they seriously need to consider Black Friday shopping.  Just think of the possibilities!  Unfortunately, we didn’t make it to the gate.  About 15 feet away, Nathen tripped and took Sage down too.  The rest of us stumbled and fell, skidding closer to the clearing.  Leaping straight back up, our escort unsheathed his sword and began the swing it back and forth, warding off the vanishers.  They surely didn’t want to taste that blade again.  “Go!”  Nathen shouted over his shoulder.  “Find Baden and you’ll all be safe.  I’ll meet you there.”  We didn’t have to be told twice.  We took off like there was no tomorrow.  Beyond the gate stood a castle that looked like it had dropped out of a storybook.  A long bridge wound its way over part of a lake before connecting to the double doors.  Running across the bridge, I thought my heart was about the burst.  I could feel the blood in my cheeks and my hair stuck to the back of my neck.  No one else looked any better.  Jada’s hair stood straight up, like she had stuck her finger in an electric socket.  Quinton was hunched over, tripping over his own feet as he ran.  And finally Holly, who had not been in the best condition when we had left, had sweat pouring down her face, which was still bleach white.  We were probably not the best looking team, but who cared?  We were going to make it.  Reaching the wooden door, all of us pounded on it and screamed till we were hoarse.  After what seemed like hours, the door creaked open.  An older man peeked through. “What in the world…”  He didn’t have time to finish.  Nathen came barreling down the bridge, vanishers at his heels.  Upon seeing this, the older man quickly ushered us all inside and shut the door.  Nathen was still outside!  I screamed at the man to open the door, but he only shook his head.  There was a strong crack outside, then silence.  Had our only “friend” made it?  The older man apparently did not care that someone could have just possible died.  He eyed us suspiciously, like we were the new threat.  Honestly, we were a sight for sorry eyes.  My friends and I were breathing hard.  Holly, Antigone, and Sage had already collapsed, and passed out too by the looks of it.  The rest of us still standing looked like defeated renegades, all hollowed out and weary.  I glanced back over at the man.  he looked irritated and annoyed, like he was angry at us for almost dying.  Slowly, he extracted a dagger from his belt.  That was too much to take in.  I practically wilted to the floor.  The last thing I remember was the man and some other gentleman leaning over me.  “Do you think that they’re the ones?”  The words seemed jumbled and unfocused.  What ones?  What were they talking about?  The thoughts flew around my head and finally settled on one question.  What was I doing here?  And with that, I passed out.